Current state of the art for sensor technology related to interconnects requires independent sensor assemblies with independent power source for powering sensor assembly. These sensor assemblies are deployed externally to the interconnect and observe the characteristics of the interconnect.
Independent sensor assemblies are often modular in nature, requiring the installation of separate modules for each function including sensing elements, power supply units, communication channels, and battery backups.
Independent sensor assemblies require dedicated communication channels to report sensor data, with additional communication wires adding to clutter in areas of deployment.
Electrical connectors or interconnect devices are used for a wide variety of circuit application, e.g., power systems, data and networking systems, lighting, communications, fiber optics, and the like. Each application may have different operating parameters and characteristics that may be monitored to provide useful information, such as temperature, current, signal direction, and connector mating state. Generally interconnect devices do not include such sensing capabilities unless additional independent sensor assemblies are attached to the interconnect device and a separate power source is available to provide power to the discrete attachments.
What is needed is an interconnect device that integrates sensing capabilities—including current, temperature, signal direction, mating status—within the body of the interconnect device, without having to include additional connections for sensor power or data communication.